Spinning Round and Round and Round
by MiLoV
Summary: Alternate ending to Swan Song, Jess tells Rory the real reason he has a black eye....it's not the reason you all think it is.


Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except a new character that I've created but I won't say the name, you'll just have to find out for yourselves :)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"You embarrassed me in front of her."  
  
"That's it, I've had it."  
  
"So have I!"  
  
"If your going to harp on this, I'm leaving." He began walking out the door..  
  
"Oh great, so now I have to explain to grandma why my boyfriend, who showed up a half-hour late with a black eye is walking out." He whirled back around and shut the door.  
  
"Listen, you really want to know what happened? Huh? You really wanna know how I got a black eye?"  
  
"Yes, I do!" She yelled.  
  
"You sure? 'Cause it might make you uncomfortable." She looked at him skeptically.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Rory, are you sure you want to know?" He asked again. She thought for a moment before answering.  
  
"Yes. I do." He sighed and took out his wallet. He opened it up to the picture section and found one of the pictures and handed it to her. She took it from him...it was a picture of her. "Jess, I don't...I don't understand."  
  
"That's why I have a black eye." He explained, pointing to the picture.  
  
"Jess, I don't know what you mean!" She cried, exasperated.  
  
"I was at work and I had just taken my break when I realized that I left my wallet in the break room. I went back in and found two guys going through it....They found that picture of you and I heard them..." He paused. "They were...talking about you..." She looked at him weirdly.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Think about it." She thought for a moment and then finally realized what he meant. They had been saying 'sexual related' things about her. She shuddered at the thought.  
  
"Oh...."  
  
"Yeah, so I punched the guy for what he said...and then they kind of ganged up on me, but I got my wallet and that's all that matters. And I got that picture back....but what does it matter, you probably don't even believe me!"  
  
"Jess..."  
  
"Sure you can say that you do but you really just want me to stay so your grandmother can't see that your not little miss perfect with the perfect boyfriend!"  
  
"That's hardly fair!  
  
"Whatever, I told you the truth, now it's your choice whether you believe it or not." He turned and walked away.  
  
"What am I suppose to tell my grandmother?" She asked as he closed the door in her face. She stood there for a moment, listening to his car start up and then drive away.  
  
"Is he fetching something from his car?" Asked Emily comming up from behind.  
  
"Umm...I don't think so grandma." Rory folded her arms across her chest and lowered her head, kicking imaginary dust on the floor with her foot while trying not to cry. She really did believe him, he just didn't give her a chance to say it.  
  
"Ugh! Rory, I can't believe that you date that little punk! He's rotten and impolite! I thought you had better judgment, but I guess I was wrong!" She turned on her heel and went into the dining room, sitting down at the table. Rory sighed and followed. She stared at Jess' place at the table...the salad was still there, along with his fork that he had set down carefully even though he was angry...maybe he was trying after all. Of course he was....he didn't want to say why he had a black eye in front of her grandmother! What would she have thought-finding out that he had been in a fight and why...it would have been terrible for him to explain, Emily would have thought the worst of him....if only she had kept her mouth shut and pretended that she had known all along, they wouldn't have had a fight and things would have gone so much better and maybe her grandmother might have actually liked him.  
  
All of a sudden, after an hour long silence, Emily asked Rory, "So how's Dean?"  
  
"What?" She asked, completely astonished that she would mention Dean on a night like tonight, although it was typical of her to do so.  
  
"Dean...Is he good?"  
  
"I guess, I wouldn't know."  
  
"Of course you wouldn't." She took a sip of her wine. "I always thought he was 'the one' for you. He was so polite and kind and respectful..." Rory was fully aware of what she hinting at.  
  
"Grandma, just stop!" She yelled.  
  
"Rory, boys like Jess are only after one thing and bound to hurt you! I don't want you to turn out to be a slut like your mother and get pregnant!" Rory bit back tears.  
  
"Mom is not a slut!" This outburst did not stop Emily from continuing.  
  
"He'll hurt you over and over and over again! He'll leave you withough a word...or...or he'll force you into having sex with him and then leave you- pregnant and alone!"  
  
"He wouldn't do that!" Rory cried, holding her tears.  
  
"Then he'll get tired of waiting for you and cheat on you with some blond slut and you'll become nothing! He doesn't love you, Rory! He never have and he never will! Why can't you see that!? Are you that stupid?!" Rory's tears fell freely down her cheeks and onto her shirt. "But then again, it could be the total opposite and you have become a whore like your mother!" Rory couldn't take this anymore and ran out of the room, grabbing her coat and Jess' that he had left. She went outside and hid in the bushes, for fear that her grandmother would try and find her.  
  
She fumbled around in her purse for her cellphone and dialed the only number she could think to call at this moment. "Hello?" Came a voice from the other end of the line. She hid in the bushes and began sobbing into the phone hysterically. "Hello??" Called the voice again.  
  
"Jess..." She breathed, finally calming down.  
  
"Rory." He stated simply, trying to sound harsh but worry and concern was very evident in his voice.  
  
"Can..you...come pick...me up?" She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself.  
  
"Why can't you just stay there?" He questioned.  
  
"Because..we had a fight...Yeah I know two in one night, I'm on a role." She finsished before he could say something sarcastic. "Jess...please." She begged. He imagined her looking at him with her big blue eyes and making a puppy dog face.  
  
"Ok....I'll be there in a little while." He sighed and hung up the phone.  
  
30 MINUTES LATER  
  
She saw his car pull up, his music thumping loudly in her ears. He didn't get out. She stood up from behind the bushes, straightened her skirt and opened the car door, sliding in ever so carefully. She turned down his music as she always did because it was always entirely too loud for two people to have a conversation, though, there may not be much talking tonight.  
  
He glared at her and turned up the music again. He had never looked at her that way before: hateful and for a second she thought she saw hurt. He began driving as she buckled her seat belt. She sat there looking out the window, wiping away tears that had continued falling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn down the music.  
  
"What happened?" She looked over at him and wiped away more tears.  
  
"She basically called me and my mom a whore...and that you would get me pregnant and leave me. And if I wasn't having sex with you now, and I wanted to wait, that you would get tired of me and cheat on me with some blond slut." She looked back out the window and he all of sudden felt remorse for being so harsh with her on the phone earlier and when she got into the car. "I tried to tell her that you wouldn't do that, but she just would believe me." She began crying again and Jess wanted to pull over and hug her and hold her close....but he didn't, he just kept driving.  
  
After awhile, when they were very close to Stars Hollow, Rory stopped crying. "I believed you, ya know. I know that you got into a fight with those guys and not Dean." He nodded, gripping the steering wheel tighter. She looked down sadly, ashamed of herself for not believing him in the first place when he told her it wasn't Dean. He got into a fight for her. He got a black eye for her, then something else dawned on her. "They ganged up on you.....are you hurt anywhere else?"  
  
"Yes." He answered honestly and quietly. She looked at him with a worried look.  
  
"Are you ok?" He nodded. She looked down at his hand that was rested between the two of them and slowly inched her hand towards him, placing it on top. He squeezed her fingers lightly as a sign that he wasn't angry anymore.  
  
He turned into an alley. "Jess...where are we."  
  
"Luke's." Yep, they were behind Luke's....  
  
"Why are we here?" She asked as they got out of the car.  
  
"You're upset...you shouldn't be alone." He stuck out his hand and she took it. He led her up to the apartment and asked Luke if it was ok if she could stay there for the night. He said it was all right, but there would be no 'hanky panky' as he so eloquently put it.  
  
Jess lead her into his room and shut the door softly. "Here." He gave her a pair of boxers and one of his old shirts that was soft and comfortable. She smiled shyly as she took the clothes into the bathroom. When she was finished, she noticed Luke was still up. She walked over, her eyes still rimmed with red. "Hey, Luke, thanks for letting me stay here. It's really nice of you." She smiled half-heartedly and turned away, walking back into Jess' room. He was laid out on the small love seat in his room and his bed had been pulled down for her.  
  
She sat on the edge of the bed and took out her earings, placing them carefully on the nightstand. He watched her carefully. "What?" She asked, finally getting somewhat annoyed with his constant staring.  
  
"Are you ok?" She looked down at her hands and then played with some of the bedspread. She nodded sullenly before looking back up at him.  
  
"I will be." He nodded before getting up and sitting next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she put her head in the crook of his neck and she sobbed quietly from the events of the night that had been so horrible and tragic. She jumped when she felt something vibrating..it was her cellphone. "Hang on." She stood up and pressed the talk button. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey babe! Watcha doin? Nothin dirty...."  
  
"Mom, I'm at Jess'." There was silence. "Mom?"  
  
"Why are you at Jess'?"  
  
"Ok, mom, listen before you say anything."  
  
"Ok..." Rory began explaining some of the things that had happened that night, leaving Lorelai speechless and on the verge of tears. "So that's what she thinks of me....my own mother..."  
  
"I know...and of me too..." There was a long silence before anyone spoke again.  
  
"Listen, babe, I'm comming home early tomorrow ok, you just....wait at Luke's and I'll be there tomorrow morning, ok?"  
  
"Ok. Love you mom."  
  
"I love you sweetie. Night."  
  
"Night." She hung up the phone and looked at Jess who looked half-asleep. "She was really upset." Her voice made him sit up straight.  
  
"Um, yeah I figured she would be....." Rory sat back on the bed beside Jess and leaned into him. "I'm...I'm sorry for just leaving you tonight....if I hadn't, none of this would have happened."  
  
"No, don't blame yourself, it was my fault for pushing you to tell me about your eye. And she probably would have ended up saying it anyway...in front of you, which would have been about ten times worse." They both sat quiet for a moment. Rory yawned.  
  
"You should get some sleep." She nodded and laid down. He covered her up and kissed her forehead gently and walked back over to the small couch. He turned out the lights and closed his eyes.  
  
"Jess?" Came a small, quiet voice in the dark.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can you do something for me?" She whispered. He turned on the light, causing them both to squint.  
  
"Are you ok, something wrong?" His voice sounded panicked.  
  
"No, I just...I can't get to sleep...I'm too..I guess I've been too stressed tonight and it's taking me along time to wind down....could you maybe tell me a story? I know it sounds childish...but-"  
  
"Sure." He nodded and got up, walking over to the bed. She made room for him to get under the covers with her. "What do you want me to tell you?"  
  
"I don't know...tell me about when you were little...." He looked at her for a moment, silently asking her if she really knew what she was asking. "Please?" She begged. He sighed deeply.  
  
"When I was eight, I had the coolest babysitter....her name was Randy."  
  
"First crush?" Rory asked jokingly.  
  
"No, I hated girls back then. Anyway, she and I got into a huge fight the first night she was helping out at my house so she quit and then she came back then next day and things got better. She was really immature to be twenty-five years old. When I was little, I always spoke my mind and I was a real brat. Nobody liked me, but for some reason she tried to help me become...I dunno more socially acceptable or something. My mom was never around and my dad...he had been in a coma for a year. He was in one of the many room of the house, with nurses and everything. I never went to see him." Rory listened intently.  
  
"One day, Randy told me that she wanted to take me to Coney Island....and ride big giant teacups and spin round and round and round until we puked our guts out." Rory smiled at this, imagining little eight year old Jess riding giant teacups. "I had never been to a theme park before...my parents were always too busy to take me, my dad had always talked about taking me, but he didn't. So I was pretty psyched that I finally got to go to one, but I of course never let her know that." He paused smiling a little to himself. "But when we got to Coney Island, it wasn't open yet. We were a week too early. I was so sad, but I didn't let her know that either. But she took me home and we didn't talk the whole way home. When we got home, she told my why she really took me....."  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Jess...when my parents died, I went to Coney Island, thinking that it was an actual island and I wanted to get away...but when I got there, I realized that it was a theme park. So the only ride I was allowed on by myself was the giant teacups. When I got on, I spun myself round and round and I realized that that's why my life was now...I was just spinning round and round on this ride of life and I not dare get off...." She got up from her chair and came and sat on the bed. "I took you because...I thought we could be on the ride together. You were right, Jess. I am scared." She buried her head in his shirt and he held her, awkwardly not entirely sure how to comfort her.  
  
Randy eventually fell asleep, but Jess couldn't. He slipped out of bed and slowly opened the door of where his father was staying.  
  
**  
  
The next morning, Jess was already up when Randy finally woke up. "Hey bud, where'd you go last night?" Jess looked up from washing his hands.  
  
"I went to see my dad." He smirked and she smiled.  
  
"You want to go see him again?"  
  
"I dunno...it's kind of pointless I think. He's a vegetable, Randy...me chatting it up with my dad isn't going to help." Randy slipped out of bed and took Jess by the hand.  
  
"Common. You know what they say about talking to people in comas." She started to pull him towards the door, but he pulled back.  
  
"No, what DO they say?" She got down on her knees so she was eye to eye with him.  
  
"They say, that if you talk to someone who is in a coma that the person will hold on ten times longer than they normally would." Jess looked up and smiled a little.  
  
"Promise?" His brown eyes were full of hope.  
  
"I promise." She stuck out her hand and he shook it, then she lead him to where his father was.  
  
"What do I say?" He whispered.  
  
"Tell him about...about a book you've read recently." Jess smiled and walked cautiously over to his father.  
  
"Hey, Dad...I know I haven't been to see you lately...but umm..I just wanted to tell you about this book that I've been reading. It's really cool." Randy smiled to herself and softly shut the door, leaving Jess and Jimmy to themselves.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
"One week later, my dad died. Randy broke her promise to me. She came to see me, but I turned her away, and my mom fired her. I didn't want to see her anymore..."  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Randy, this is Mrs. Mariano. I know you've been let go but is there any chance that you've seen Jess today?"  
  
"No, I haven't. Why?"  
  
"Well, he..he didn't come home from school today...." Randy hung up the phone, knowing just where to go. Coney Island.  
  
CONEY ISLAND  
  
She walked up to the giant teacups, searching frantically. There he was, sitting in one of the teacups, looking straight ahead in his uniform. His mass of black hair flowing freely in the wind. She walked up to him and got in the teacup with him. They started spinning themselves as fast as they could. When the ride was over they both puked their guts up just like Randy said they would. Jess turned around and looked at her. He was angry, she could tell. He slapped her and then he tried to slap her again but she caught his arm, but then he still slapped her again with his other hand. She stood up and slapped him. He started hitting her in the stomach as hard as he could and she just stood there, understanding his frustration and anger. His punching got softer and he started crying and he threw his arms around her waist, squeezing her as tight as she could. She held him until he stopped crying and they went home.  
  
"You and I...we're gonna be friends for a long long time, now and forever...."  
  
"Grown-ups never stay friends with kids." Jess said.  
  
"I don't see any grown-ups around here." She said smiling, remembering he had said that to her earlier. He smiled.  
  
"I do."  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
"I had had a lot of babysitters...but she was by far the best I ever had." Rory had not fallen asleep, listening the whole time. This was the most he had spoken in all the time she had known him.  
  
"I'm so sorry...about your dad." He shrugged.  
  
"It's not as hard as it used to be."  
  
"So what happened to Randy?" She asked. He looked away and got out of the bed and went over to the couch. He laid down and cover himself up, turning over, away from her.  
  
"She died." With that, he turned off the lights and tried to go back to sleep. Rory couldn't believe what he had just told her. She almost began to cry for him, he'd lost his best friend....then she thought of losing Lane or her mother and gasped quietly. She laid still in bed for what seemed like forever, just thinking.  
  
She got up from her bed and went over to Jess' sleeping form. He had turned back over in his sleep with his face towards her. She looked at him, the moon shining through the window, she could see tear stains on his face. She brushed some of the locks of black hair off of his forehead and kissed it. He woke up and looked at her. They sat there for a moment, just looking at one another, then Rory decided to speak. Her voice quivered as she spoke. "When?" He looked confused. "When did she die?"  
  
"thirteen." He replied. "I was thirteen. Her boyfriend was driving drunk. Drove up a tree....they burned to death." He sat up and swung his legs over, making room for Rory to sit next to him, but she didn't. She sat in front of him with her hands on his knees, just staring at him. The moonlight making her eyes even bluer than they really were.  
  
"I thought...if I ever lost Lane or my mom or...you.....I couldn't go on...I mean...I wouldn't want to live..." He stared at her, amazed at how much she cared.  
  
"I'm always afraid of losing you...I always have been." He admitted quietly.  
  
"I will never leave you. I promise."  
  
"Don't make promises that you can't keep!" He snapped. She scooted away from him a little, sort of afraid of him. "I'm sorry...no one's ever kept their promises to me..." She came and sat up next to him, taking his head in her hands.  
  
"I promise." She kissed him lightly on the lips and pulled away, but he pulled her back and crashed his lips with hers. They finally pulled away when they needed air. "I love you." She whispered. Not even the darkness could hide his surprised expression. But he quickly got over it, realizing what he truly felt for her.  
  
"I love you, too." He smiled and kissed her once again. "You should get some sleep..." She kissed him one last time before getting up and getting under the covers.  
  
"I love you, Jess Mariano." She whispered.  
  
"I love you, Rory Gilmore." He whispered back.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: I really don't know what's up with me and these one-parters nowadays, but I hope you like them....and if you don't....oh well. I'm sorry :(  
  
I got part of this idea for this story from Uptown Girls...weird I know, but I just love the part with the teacups, it's so sad and I just love it! I don't know how many of you have seen it, but it's a really cute movie...  
  
Anyways, I hope you liked this and please please please review! I live for reviews...mostly :) 


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